1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a profile rail for forming a locker system having a plurality of lockers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Locker systems, such as those found, for example, in railway stations, airports, and clothing changing rooms, or those built in the form of so-called package stations for temporary storage of shipping goods or in the form of safe systems, are gaining increasingly importance. Such locker systems have a plurality of lockers in which it is possible to (temporarily) store, for example, luggage, clothing articles, shipping goods, or values. A locker is therefore generally filled for a certain time and can be opened and emptied by an authorized party.
The lockers of such locker systems are typically lockable and, to that end, equipped with, for example, electromechanical locking mechanisms.
The reliability and robustness of these locking mechanisms are of great importance. There are essentially two approaches known from the prior art for maintaining and/or repairing locking mechanisms in the event of damage.
A first approach entails accessing the locking mechanism from the locker to which the locking mechanism is assigned. Here, the locking mechanism and typically also a corresponding wiring are directly accessible from the assigned locker. In other words, the locking mechanism is thus installed in the compartment itself. However, this approach has disadvantages, one being that it is impossible to rule out tampering with the locking mechanism by an unauthorized user of the locker. One example for preventing tampering would be to use anti-tampering screw fittings, but this is an insufficient protection. The tools required to open such screw fittings are typically procurable without great difficulty. Another disadvantage is the fact that the locking mechanism to be repaired often is no longer suitable for correctly opening a locked locker door, such that access to the locker and thus to the locking mechanism to be repaired is consequently blocked. Therefore, in the first approach described above, often a mechanical unlocking mechanism is provided, which can be used in the event of damage. However, such an emergency unlocking mechanism entails additional costs and added effort needed in manufacturing and installation.
The second approach known from the prior art entails a service access to the locking mechanism in need of repairs from outside of the locker assigned to the locking mechanism. This approach is considerably more secure against tampering. However, because locker systems often comprise a plurality of rows of compartments arranged side by side, it may be necessary to pull an entire row of compartments out from the locker system, in order to provide a service access to a locking mechanism to be repaired. It shall be readily understood that this is associated with high assembly expenses, which is why the second approach described above also comes with disadvantages.
A locker system is known, for example, from patent document EP 1 959 406 A1. Therein, the individual lockers are equipped with an electromechanical locking mechanism, and can be opened and/or closed by users of the locker system by means of a speech control unit. Another locker system is known from patent document EP 0 413 720 B1, which proposes integrating the locking mechanism of the individual lockers in each respective locker door. A similar approach is known from patent document DE 8 610 759 U1.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technical means with which, firstly, a locking mechanism of a locker system can be safely protected against tampering attempts and, secondly, service access to the locking mechanism can be made easily available.